Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the landing of a Chinese rover on Mars; and what plans they have, if any, to support the 1979 Moon Agreement, and in particular its principle that the resources of space should not be appropriated by any commercial or state interest.

Her Majesty’s Government has noted with interest the successful landing of the Zhurong rover on Mars and we welcome the increased scientific research and understanding of Mars that it will enable.

Her Majesty’s Government is not a signatory to the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies; therefore, its principles do not apply to the United Kingdom.

However, the Government continues to support the principle that all nations operating rovers on Mars and other celestial bodies abide by the provisions of the UN Outer Space Treaty. The UK actively participates in the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees to define best practice and associated guidelines.